We’re proud to announce a major new crowd-funding campaign in support of whistleblower Chelsea Manning to help pay for her important legal appeal.
Chelsea is currently in the process challenging of her unjust Espionage Act conviction and draconian 35-year jail sentence at the Army Court of Appeals.

First Look Media, publisher of The Intercept, will match donations up made to Chelsea up to $50,000, and journalist Glenn Greenwald, a founding editor of The Intercept and co-founder of Freedom of the Press Foundation, will also personally match up an additional $10,000—for a total of $60,000 in matching funds! We hope this will give everyone even more incentive to donate, knowing that any contribution you make will automatically be doubled.

Chelsea is currently $80,000 in debt and will need much more to see the appeal all the way through. Her legal team will need to raise at least $200,000 to get through the first major aspect of the appeal stage.

Five years after her disclosures of State Department cables and war logs to WikiLeaks, Chelsea’s whistleblowing continues to have a profound impact on how journalists, historians, and the public understanding and reporting on US foreign policy and governments around the world. As Greenwald wrote today at the Intercept:

Knowingly risking her own liberty, she gave those documents (none of which was Top Secret) to WikiLeaks for publication in order, as she put it at the time, to trigger "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.” To this day, those materials she made public — which revealed massive wrongdoing, deceit and criminality — are centrally featured in journalism about critical stories in the public interest all over the world...To this day, those materials she made public — which revealed massive wrongdoing, deceit and criminality — are centrally featured in journalism about critical stories in the public interest all over the world. These disclosures played a role in sparking the Arab Spring by exposing corruption of that region’s tyrants as well as thwarting U.S. efforts to stay longer in Iraq by documenting brutal war crimes committed there by American forces.

She could have enriched herself by selling those documents to a foreign intelligence agency or media outlet for enormous sums, but did none of that. That’s because she had only one motive: to inform citizens around the world of what their governments are doing in the dark.

After being subject to brutal treatment before her trial that was widely condemned by experts as torture, Chelsea was handed a draconian 35-year sentence under unjust law never meant for whistleblowers. Despite the fact that the US government could not point to any concrete harm posed by Chelsea’s whistleblowing, she was not allowed to make a public interest or whistleblowing defense in court.

Being in prison while trying to figure out how I will pay for my legal appeal has been a great source of stress and anxiety. I’m so honored that a new campaign is supporting me in my effort to vindicate my legal rights, and I am truly grateful to anyone who is helping.

We hope this is more than just a chance to donate to Chelsea as her legal team continues their quest overturn the horrible military precedent for future whistleblowers. It’s also an opportunity to show your support for Chelsea in a meaningful and public way, and to make a statement about how important brave whistleblowers like Chelsea are in a just and transparent democracy.

As you’ll see on our front page, we’re keeping track of how many people donate so the public can see just how much support Chelsea has across the country and the world. Whether you donate $10, $50, $100, or $1000, you are sending a strong signal that prosecuting whistleblowers under a pernicious law like the Espionage Act is a danger to press freedom, harms the public interest, and is unacceptable in a democracy.

We are not taking any fee for the donations to this campaign, so 100% of every dollar donated will be earmarked for Chelsea Manning’s legal defense. After the campaign is complete, we plan on donating the funds directly to The Chelsea Manning Legal Trust, which was set up by Chelsea’s lawyer Nancy Hollander to pay for the legal costs of Chelsea’s appeal.

Currently, Chelsea’s legal campaign is now more than $80,000 in debt and will likely need to raise at least another $120,000 on top of that to get through the first court hearings. Right now we’ve set the goal at $120,000, but we have no doubt that with your help, the public can fully fund Chelsea’s legal costs.

The task Nancy Hollander and her team have in front of them is enormous. Before filing their brief and arguing the case, they must read the entire record record of the case, which is 139 volumes of over 300 pages each. It is the longest court record in military history. Then Chelsea’s appeal goes first to the Army Court of Appeals. That court can order a new trial or sentencing, reduce her sentence or reverse her convictions. Nancy's full statement about the work ahead of her and her team is below.

Given how much Chelsea has done for journalism and the public good, helping her support her case is the least we could do.

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Full statement from Chelsea's lawyer Nancy Hollander:

Nearly two years ago today, Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years behind bars for a heroic act of truth-telling to protect innocent civilians. We are proud and honored to represent Chelsea Manning in this historic appeal with the potential to order a new trial or sentencing, reduce her sentence or reverse her convictions.

If this case stands—along with other recent cases—anyone who ever leaks a single page of classified information runs the risk of prosecution under the Espionage Act. That Act was meant to punish spies and saboteurs, people who act against the United States. It was never meant to prosecute whistleblowers and this case presents a disastrous precedent that needs to be overturned. A healthy, free society needs brave individuals to hold the government accountable for its actions at home and abroad.

"The issues on appeal include the horrific way that Chelsea was treated, subjected to months of solitary confinement and harsh restrictions that were outrageous, punitive and unnecessary. She was denied her constitutional right to a speedy trial and experienced a wholesale lack of due process.

My law partner, Vince Ward, Chelsea’s detailed appellate counsel, Cpt David Hammond, and I are working our way through the longest written record in military history and take on this fight willingly. Chelsea has the right to have someone stand between her and the awesome power of her own government when all that power is directed at her. Vince and my work for Chelsea is sustained by thousands of her supporters who stand with her to challenge our justice system to honor the rights of all people who put themselves at grave personal risk to protect and defend others.]]>

He reports that the new, oppressive security measures were ordered directly by the judge because reporters were violating court rules (which no one can find a copy of), and carrying "prohibited electronics." For this, the government needs armed military police standing right behind reporters as they type, in the media room.

Matt says:

I've covered civil and criminal cases in federal and state courts (including a terrorism trial), and the Manning court martial for eight months, and I haven't run into an atmosphere quite as tense as today.

Here's the latest: the Military District of Washington told me in a statement that the new security measures are coming straight from the judge, and in response to "repeat violations of the rules of the court both in the courtroom and the media operations center." No elaboration on what those were.

Col. Denise Lind, the judge overseeing the case, ordered the increased security measures "because of the repeat violations of the rules of the court both in the courtroom and the media operations center with regard to broadcasting and electronics," the Military District of Washington said in a emailed, unsigned statement. "The Military Police are to screen personnel to ensure no one is bringing prohibited electronics into the building and to ensure compliance with the rules of the court."

Armed military police peering over journalists' shoulders, no Internet access in the remote media room, Army staff frisking everyone for phones -- those weren't the only obstacles for reporters covering the trial today. The military also refused to publish key documents the government used to build its closing argument.

@carwinb, @kgosztola, @nathanLfuller, and @wikileakstruck have tweeted about armed guards standing directly behind them as they type into laptops in the designated press area, being "screamed at" for having "windows" open on their computers that show Twitter in a browser tab, and having to undergo extensive, repeated, invasive physical searches.

I visited the trial two weeks ago. While there were many restrictions for attending press that I found surprising (reporters couldn't work from the courtroom, mobile devices weren't allowed in the press room), it wasn't this bad. I was treated respectfully and courteously by Army Public Affairs Officers and military police, and was only grumped at a few times for stretching those (silly) restrictions. I was physically searched only once, when entering the courtroom, and that's standard for civilian or military trials.

But the vibe is very different today in the Smallwood building where reporters are required to work, about a quarter mile away from the actual courtroom. Tweets from some of the attending journalists are below; there are about 40-50 of them present and not all are tweeting. Internet access is spotty today. Oh, wait; as I type this blog post, I'm now seeing updates that they're being told they are not allowed to access Twitter at all. Why has the climate changed so much in the final few days of the trial? What is the Army afraid of?

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/07/25/journalists-at-bradley-manning.html/feed0In final phase of Bradley Manning trial, a defense of Wikileakshttp://boingboing.net/2013/07/11/in-final-phase-of-bradley-mann.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/07/11/in-final-phase-of-bradley-mann.html#commentsThu, 11 Jul 2013 15:23:14 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=242001covers proceedings in the court-martial of PFC Bradley Manning at Ft. Meade, on the day the defense rested its case.]]>
Charlie Savage at the New York Times covers proceedings in the court-martial of PFC Bradley Manning at Ft. Meade, on the day the defense rested its case. The final witness for the defense was Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler, who authored this widely-cited paper on WikiLeaks. Benkler testified that the organization served a legitimate journalistic role when Manning leaked it some 700,000 or more secret government files.

[D]espite the criticism WikiLeaks has endured, Mr. Benkler said the model it had developed was likely to endure.

“WikiLeaks may fail in the future because of all these events, but the model of some form of decentralized leaking, that is secure technologically and allows for collaboration among different media in different countries, that’s going to survive, and somebody else will build it,” he said. “But WikiLeaks played that critical role of that particular critical component of what muckraking and investigative journalism has always done.”

http://boingboing.net/2013/07/11/in-final-phase-of-bradley-mann.html/feed0US military continues to abuse and abandon wounded soldiershttp://boingboing.net/2013/05/20/us-military-continues-to-abuse.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/05/20/us-military-continues-to-abuse.html#commentsMon, 20 May 2013 22:33:11 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=231299The New York Times uncovered systemic abuse within units meant to help wounded Army soldiers transition through months-and-years-long treatment and rehabilitation.]]>The New York Times uncovered systemic abuse within units meant to help wounded Army soldiers transition through months-and-years-long treatment and rehabilitation. Today, The Colorado Springs Gazette has a profile about one of the soldiers who stood up for Warrior Transition Units back then. The abuses exposed by the Times weren't fixed and Jerrald Jensen ended up becoming a victim himself. After questioning the mistreatment in the system, he was nearly given a less-than-honorable discharge, which would have cost him long-term Veteran's benefits — a pattern that the Gazette has found happening over and over among the most-vulnerable wounded Army men and women who need the most care in order to rehabilitate from their service injuries. The treatment described here is disgusting, all the more so when you compare it to Jensen's service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Exposing this kind of crap is why journalism exists. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/05/20/us-military-continues-to-abuse.html/feed11Army "Civil Disturbances" training manual from 1975http://boingboing.net/2012/09/15/army-civil-disturbances-tr.html
http://boingboing.net/2012/09/15/army-civil-disturbances-tr.html#commentsSat, 15 Sep 2012 23:39:36 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=181206
Mark Pilkington, who is documenting for Boing Boing his strange trip through the mythic landscape of the American Southwest, picked up this useful manual at an army surplus store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.]]>
Mark Pilkington, who is documenting for Boing Boing his strange trip through the mythic landscape of the American Southwest, picked up this useful manual at an army surplus store in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You too can master the "butt stroke." See more pages over at Mark's blog: "Civil Disturbances (1975)"]]>http://boingboing.net/2012/09/15/army-civil-disturbances-tr.html/feed13How a US soldier finally got his Pastafarian dogtagshttp://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/how-a-us-soldier-finally-got-h.html
http://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/how-a-us-soldier-finally-got-h.html#commentsWed, 09 May 2012 14:17:13 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=159565
Justin Griffith, an atheist in the US military, tells the story of how he ended up with ATHEIST/FSM on his dogtags.]]>
Justin Griffith, an atheist in the US military, tells the story of how he ended up with ATHEIST/FSM on his dogtags. It all started when he enlisted as an atheist, only to have his recruiter record his religion as "Baptist." Even switching recruiters didn't end up with the error corrected. At boot camp, recruits were only allowed one "holy book" from their stated religion, so he brought The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which became the most-loved book in camp, much-borrowed and re-read by the other recruits. Even his drill sergeant liked it. Kinda.

At one point my Drill Sergeant tried to take it away from me. He thought it was just some book that I smuggled in. Keep in mind that Drill Sergeants are professionally trained in the art of not laughing at anything (yelling and freaking out are more appropriate responses to most situations.)

Me: “Drill Sergeant, I’m afraid I can’t really talk to you about this any further unless I’m in my religious clothing. I need to be in full pirate regalia, or at the very least wearing an eye patch.”

….Then he just looked at me for about 30 seconds. Crickets. Time stopped… The other soldiers that were around were extremely scared of the coming mass punishment they imagined that I had surely just earned them.

Then he flipped through the book. He read a few sentences out loud. And then it happened.

http://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/how-a-us-soldier-finally-got-h.html/feed62Army seeks to counteract PTSD nightmares with "real-life Inception"http://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/army-seeks-to-counteract-ptsd-nightmares-with-real-life-inception.html
http://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/army-seeks-to-counteract-ptsd-nightmares-with-real-life-inception.html#commentsMon, 24 Oct 2011 14:21:34 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=125530Danger Room reports that an Army-backed R&D project called “Power Dreaming” at Naval Hospital Bremerton in Washington State promises to help troops battle their nightmares with digital "counter-dreams": virtual dream stimuli.]]>Danger Room reports that an Army-backed R&D project called “Power Dreaming” at Naval Hospital Bremerton in Washington State promises to help troops battle their nightmares with digital "counter-dreams": virtual dream stimuli. The Army awarded about half a million dollars to a consulting company for help developing the experiment, which is scheduled to launch next year.]]>http://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/army-seeks-to-counteract-ptsd-nightmares-with-real-life-inception.html/feed12